Phantoms of Ylisse
by BountyRook
Summary: It's out of the frying pan and into the inferno of war as the Phantom's Strike Team Azure ends up from a nearly disastrous op into a new war where fantasy warfare will meet future soldier warfare.
1. Chapter 1

**Phantoms of Ylisse**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Recon or Fire Emblem in any way, shape or form. So hold off the lawsuits and torches!**

 **I: Out of the Frying Pan…Into the Fire?! What?!**

* * *

" _ **Is this how you want it to end**_ _?_ "

'What?'

" _ **I ask again is this how you want it to end?**_ "

"What is it to you?"

" _ **I only think that you and your team would be more useful somewhere else.**_ "

"As long as that place is anywhere but here then I'm open to whatever you have in mind."

" _ **Then it is settled. The way is open to you.**_ "

…

Aasimar opened her eyes, the last thing she remembered was somewhat hazy, she knew for sure that they'd evaded the Ghosts. But for the love of Rodrig she couldn't tell where the hell she was. She could see that she was in some sort of forest, though it was none that he was able to recognize.

She and her Azure Team had managed to steal intel from a temporary Ghost Base in Afghanistan. Good news they got the data and had gotten out. Bad news the Ghosts somehow found out and had given chase. They had been surrounded, but they did not let that hinder them, they kept fighting, exploiting the very same adaptive camo and other Future Soldier tech that the Ghosts had to stay ahead of them. However, Aasimar knew for a fact that it was only a matter of time before she and her team would be captured or worse killed and command was right now unable to give them support. As if someone heard her request for a miracle, Aasimar spotted what looked like a glowing "door" down an alley across from their position. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth she made her decision and ordered the team to gun it for their "exit". They successfully got through before a bright light hit them after and they were gone.

…

 **Aasimar's POV**

I and Azure Team finished waking up and getting to our feet from our unusual nap. We all sighed in relief in escaping that clusterfuck of a mess back there. However, we all noticed something VERY WRONG with the current situation. Sure, we had escaped the Ghost Teams chasing us, but we never expected the 'door' we went through to lead into another area entirely instead of into a building.

It was clearly daytime and but sure as hell not Afghanistan. But that wasn't the only problem. Our satellite, command links went dead with only our Squad Cross-Com links still operational. NOT A GOOD SIGN.

"What the hell! Ma'am, where are we and how did we end up here?!" Sergio Vergas, call sign "Carnage" said. He was the team's heavy weapons specialist, armed with a LSAT light machine gun fitted with a laser sight, a fore grip for stability, and box cartridge, an XM29 OICW grenade launcher, all for heavy damage and suppression and a suppressed USP .45 pistol. He's a 6'7", 215lbs Mexican-American and like his call sign implies, he has a knack for carnage and destruction, though when he's not in combat he's the nicest guy to be around.

"Your guess is as good as mine Carnage." I replied, just as confused as him. Where did we end up?

"So we went out of the frying pan and into another hell?" asked Amara Markov, call sign "Deadeye". She's the team's recon specialist and also markswoman, armed with a VSS sniper rifle and a suppressed Five-Seven pistol. She's a 5'9", 149lbs Russian with a cool demeanor and deadly accuracy and very loyal to those she considers worthy of her respect.

"I don't know about this being another hell, but one thing for sure is that there's no Ghosts around to dog us." Edward "Gadget" Newman stated. He's the team's tech and demolitions specialist. He's a 5'6" British who's playful and loves to mess around with gadgets and electronic warfare, though when he's in a firefight he's quite the crack shot. He's armed with a CAWS shotgun and a suppressed 45T pistol.

"That's true, but we're still not in the clear." Deadeye said, "I'd hate to say this ma'am but we're no longer on Earth."

"Already came to that conclusion Deadeye." I said, "Unfortunately we can't spend all day wondering about it. Let's find some form of civilization and get some answers. Move out!"

"Ma'am!" My squad mates acknowledged and we all cloaked and set off to find the nearest town.

…

Finding a town was easy for us. With our adaptive camo on we didn't have to worry about being spotted by the locals. However, it was shocking for us when we saw that it was the kind that was in the medieval times or those fantasy RPGs that Gadget loved playing, and even now he was looking on in awe at the place which contained people who dressed in simple clothing like the people from that period. What the hell did we get ourselves into?

"So we're now in the fantasy world huh Aasimar?" Carnage deadpanned on the comm.

"Pretty much." I replied, "And Gadget's antics show that he's happy about it."

"And here I thought he was more interested in electronics." Deadeye added.

"I AM more interested in electronics but right now we're in a fantasy world where there are swords, magic, dragons…" Gadget replied in excitement.

"Dragons?! Really Gadget…Really?" Carnage interrupted in annoyance.

I ignored their banter while using the cross-com to check for anything remotely interesting or important. I've already known about these fantasy worlds thanks to my old friend Rodrig who came from a similar world. Nothing came up for a while but I knew that things could change in seconds. And lo and behold trouble came as red dots showed up on the cross-com, followed by the sounds of a massacre and flames engulfing buildings. Looks like my team noticed them too since they were no longer talking anymore.

"Trouble up ahead. Let's move team!" I said to the team. All of us moved into the town to see what was going on.

…

When we got into town we saw something that seemed too clichéd for our liking.

Men in ragged clothing with fur coats around them, wielding axes were ransacking the town. Basically brigands, bandits or whatever. There were also some swordsmen and a few guys in fancy cloaks and with books in their hands among them. Mages if I can remember from Rodrig. Gadget of course wanted to talk more about this being proof that we were in a fantasy world but he knew better. This was no time for joking around.

We quickly took cover with our tactical cloaks still on. I took out the drone and tossed it up, watching as it activated its cloak and stayed in midair before I directed it ahead of us and we all connected to its feed with the cross-com. There were 20 bandits in total causing a ruckus. The leader and nine others were with him at one side of the town while the rest were in the other side of the town not far from us. Most of the civilians had fled from the area and hidden themselves and an unfortunate few had been killed. But it was what came out of the leader's mouth that angered us.

"Haha! Burn it all! Rape the women, whatever you want boys!" The bastard said with a gleeful smile.

From the corner of my eye I could tell that my team wanted me to give the order to go and waste these ruffians and I was going to do so since I was just as angry.

The drone came back to my position and into my hand before I put it away and faced my team.

"Alright team, check your weapons; we've got bandits to put down permanently." I said as we all did a quick check on our weaponry, with me checking my suppressed ACR with red dot sight, laser sight and grenade launcher attachment and Desert Eagle. "We may be in unfamiliar territory but that doesn't mean that we'd let these scumbags do what they want. It's a 5-to-1 odds against us but nothing we can't handle. We're going in silent. Use your weapons sparingly and when necessary since we've got very limited ammo." I turned to our sniper, "Deadeye, you're on over watch, find a good vantage point and have fun."

Deadeye nodded and made a quick dash for a nearby building that had the perfect view of the town and becoming visible for a while before she used her grappling hook to get on the roof and cloaked again. The rest of us moved into the town.

…

 **Deadeye's POV**

From my vantage point I had a good view of the town, including the town center. On my cross com I saw my cloaked teammates going different ways to deal with their targets while I aimed down the scope of my VSS at my first victim: one of those mages with his spell book I guess. I zoomed in on his head and smirked behind my mask. A shame this fool was unaware that he was going to die, not that I cared since he was scum and a trip to hell was all he deserved. I pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet silently left the barrel and into his skull, his blood gushing from his head before he dropped dead.

"Tango down." I said. Then I spotted a guy with a sword running up to check on the dead mage. I aimed at his skull too and gave him the same treatment. "Another one down."

Soon I heard the faint sound of an explosion going off, telling me that someone decided to screw the going silent order.

 **Carnage's POV**

Me and Gadget moved together towards a house that was unscathed and stayed on the wall, peeking from the corners while cloaked. Seeing no one Gadget tossed the motion sensor just to be sure. On our Cross-coms it showed outlines of three people in a house, two with red outlines and from their positions and the following feminine scream they were up to no good. We both made a quick dash to the house, becoming temporarily visible. We got to the house and pressed against the wall by the door. We noticed that the door was locked but the windows were open.

We both peeked through a window and saw something that disgusted us. Two of those barbaric thugs were trying to rape a young woman. Screw going silent here! Wasting no time, we got to the door and I placed a charge on it.

"Breaching in 3…2…1…NOW!"

The door was blasted in, with the loud sound and explosion catching the three people off guard while we got rushed in. Gadget blasted the fucker on the right with his CAWS, splattering his blood all over the wall and I double tapped the one on the left with my USP45. With both dead we went to check on the woman and saw her with her eyes open but blank, meaning that she was blind, and she was shaking in fear.

" **It's alright. You're safe now."** Gadget said to the woman, reassuring her. She stopped shaking and nodded to him though she was still a little scared.

" **Alright we're clear here. We've still got to deal with the rest of these scums."** I said after seeing that there were no enemies nearby with the cross-com. We both cloaked and walked out of the house, leaving the woman behind.

 **Aasimar's POV**

I got behind a building with my adaptive camo activating and pressed up against the wall. I heard the two suppressed shots going off, meaning that Deadeye bagged two kills already. A swordsman came over to check on the dead mage and then got the same treatment, him too dropping dead. I watched two axe wielding bandits and a swordsman walking my way and waited for them to pass and drew out my combat knife. After the first two passed I grabbed the third one, the swordsman from behind, covering his mouth and slit his throat, killing him silently. I then took out my ACR and drilled the other two bandits in the back of their heads dropping them too, the muted shots unheard due to the roar of the flames from a burning building.

I moved on ahead and then took cover when I saw a swordsman, bandit and mage at the fountain in the center of the town. On the cross-com Carnage and Gadget showed up most likely done with their targets.

"See them Aasimar?" Carnage contacted me.

"Yes." I replied, "Met any of the opposition?"

"We took out two of them with less than noble intentions for a woman." Gadget answered with disgust, "What about you, Lead?"

"Bagged three a few seconds ago." I said, "Now let's take out these three together."

Soon, three beams of light were aimed, each pointing at the heads of the three enemies at the fountain.

"On my mark…" I said after all shots were lined up, "Fire!"

In a smooth sequence we all drilled the three unsuspecting enemies in the head and ended their scummy lives.

"Tangos down." I said, "On me everyone." Soon I saw Gadget and Carnage show up visible on my position. Then a minute later Deadeye showed up.

"That should be all of these ones on this side." I said.

"Seems like it ma'am. Time to deal with the rest-" Deadeye was interrupted by the sound of fighting on the other side of the town, where the other bandits and their leader were.

"Looks like someone's engaging the other bandits." Gadget said.

"Let's go and see what's going on." I said. We all cloaked again and moved towards where the fight was going on.

…

We stealthily arrived at the other side of town and saw a group of four people opposing the remaining bandits and their leader.

"Looks like that group's dealing with these fuckers." Carnage said.

"Should we give them assistance?" Deadeye asked.

"No, let's watch first. We'll only act if necessary." I replied.

So we observed them fighting, and I could easily tell who were the assaults and the supports. The man on the horse in light blue armor and the blue haired man with an ornate looking sword were the main attackers. The young girl that stayed back with her staff at the ready and the white haired male throwing… lightning bolts...were the supports. I could see Gadget ready to scream in ecstasy at someone firing spells and Carnage and Deadeye with wide eyes at the sight.

Besides I noticed that the man that threw lightning seemed to be calling the shots, yelling orders to the others.

' _The group's tactician huh? Good to see someone who understands the importance of strategy.'_ I thought with a smile under my mask. But then something else about the man got my attention, there was something…ominous in him that I sensed, one that told me that there was more to him than meets the eye. I filed that away for another time to focus on the battle.

It wasn't long until there was only the bandit leader left. The group all stood at the ready, while the defiant bandit held his ground with an enraged glare, "How dare you kill my men!? I'll make you all sorry!"

"They've got this in the bag Aasimar. No point in staying here." Gadget stated. I would have agreed with him if not for the fact that I spotted a girl walk onto the scene, which spelt trouble. And I was on point when the bandit spotted the child and rushed to her, grabbed her and used her as a hostage and escalating the situation.

"Shit! A hostage situation." Carnage cursed, "Looks like we have to take action after all."

"And risk exposing ourselves to the natives here." Gadget added.

"So you prefer us to do nothing?" Deadeye asked.

"I never said that."

"We're helping either ways." I said with finality, "Everyone get ready. I'm tossing in a flash."

The others took cover while I took out a flashbang and tossed it over, seeing it land in front of the bandit before I took cover. Hearing the sound of it going off and the bandit screaming in pain a few seconds after, we all popped out of cover and lined our shots on the bandit who had released the girl and was staggering back. Altogether we filled the bastard full of lead with our weapons. After five seconds we stopped our barrage and saw the results: The bastard was a bloody mess with many holes all over his body and head.

Then we heard a gasp and we all turned to see the young girl with the staff pointing at us and the others looking at us in shock. Well there goes our anonymity. We activated our active camo and "vanished" from their sights and made ourselves scarce immediately.

Unknown to us, this was just the start of things to come.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 End.**

 **Drop a review…if you feel like it, and we'll see how this story goes…No mindless flames or they'll be trashed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Phantoms of Ylisse**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Recon or Fire Emblem in any way, shape or form. So hold off the lawsuits and torches!**

 **II: Meeting the locals**

* * *

 _My name is Alexandra Lin call sign "Aasimar", leader of Phantom strike team "Azure". I'd never thought I'd see the day. Who'd ever thought that I and Azure team would end up in Rodrig's home world after our escape from Ghost teams? Not this place per say, wherever here is, but similar to it. It almost feels like those RPGs Gadget loves to play. If that wasn't crazy enough we had just helped to rid the town of a group of bandits that tried to raid it. Even with the odds stacked against us, our gear and weaponry made taking those bandits out a cake walk. Though the climax was when the bandit leader took a hostage and we had to act. We were successful but we also exposed ourselves to the locals here. We got out of there as soon as possible before they could ask any questions._

 _Still there was one question for ourselves, what next?_

…

 **Aasimar's POV**

We were out in the forest away from civilization and camping there. Thanks to Gadget, instead of multiple tents we had one large tent which served as a forward operating base. And right now we are having a team meeting, discussing our next move in this fantasy world we're stuck in.

"So what now ma'am? The locals have seen us and they were freaked out at the sight of us." Carnage asked me.

"They weren't freaked out Sergio. More like surprised at seeing us." Deadeye corrected, "Still it was only those four that saw us. Not the whole town."

"True but we're still foreigners to them, especially since we dress differently and have tech that they've never seen before." Gadget added, "Even if we did help in ridding the town of those bandits, we're total strangers to them."

"And I doubt that they'd trust us just like that." Carnage said. "So what's our next move then ma'am?"

My team turned to me, waiting for my answer. They all made some good points about the situation. In fact, they are all correct about this. However, they still had forgotten one thing: We DON'T know anything about this world. Just as I was about to point that out and let them know, I became tense and on guard due to sensing an enemy presence; undead to be precise, and many of them too. My team noticed my posture and they immediately went for their gear.

"We got intruders on the sensors." Gadget announced. "They look human but…"

"They're not." I finished for him. "They are undead."

"Undead?! You mean…zombies?!" Deadeye asked.

"You can say that."

"So we got zombies incoming?" Carnage asked, already armed with his weapons.

"Yes. Check your weapons people and keep them suppressed. We got a battle on our hands." I stated as we prepared for a fight. When we were done we went outside the tent and saw exactly what I'd detected; Undead that looked too much like the locals here but with red eyes and wielding swords, axes and now bows and there were a large number of them coming our way.

"Carnage, crowd control! Everyone else goes for head shots and watch for the archers!" I ordered as I aimed at one of the undead archers with my ACR and shot it right between the eyes, dropping it before it turned into purple mist. Then I quickly did the same for two sword-wielding undead.

"Say hello to my little friend freaks!" Carnage yelled as he fired an explosive round from his XM29 OICW grenade launcher into a group of seven undead, blowing them up and the body parts turning to mist just like the first one.

Deadeye drilled three undead in the head in rapid succession with her VSS sniper rifle and Gadget dropped another three with his 45T pistol.

…

 **Third Person POV**

Chrom, Lissa, Frederick and Robin met earlier in the day and then they had to save a town from bandits. They had encountered a group of them along with their boss and managed to take the grunts down. However, when it was time to fight the leader he took a child hostage and made things complicated. Then from nowhere a small item landed in front of them and emitted a blinding light which forced them to cover their eyes and also made the bandit release his hostage. Then multiple sounds of thunder followed and so did the death throes of the bandit. When it was over they looked up to see the bandit dead with so many holes on his body. Suddenly Lissa gasped as she pointed at a group of four people with red eyes, wearing grey armor and wielding weapons they'd never seen before and then the group shocked them as they disappeared right before their eyes.

When they further went into the town, they'd seen more bandits who died in a similar way to their leader. Then a young lady mentioned about two men who saved her from being raped and used weapons that sounded familiar to the ones the unknown group had used. As much as they wanted to find that group they had no idea where they were since their disappearance.

So they decided to go to the capitol Ylisse not that Robin had much choice in the matter. Night time came and they decided to make camp. Chrom and Lissa had woken up soon after they had originally gone to sleep, mainly because Chrom felt that something was wrong. And now they were being attacked by strange red eyed creatures that strongly resembled humans. Chrom told Lissa to get somewhere safe while he took out the undead creatures.

Chrom then heard a loud sound and saw the four people they'd spotted back in the town come into the area while taking out more of the creatures that had attacked him and Lissa just now. He saw one of them; most likely the leader giving orders to the other three just like Robin did with his group earlier. In no time flat the grey suited group had taken down the undead creatures with scary efficiency. Chrom was about to make his way towards them when he heard his sister scream in terror. He and the group turned to see another of the undead about to attack Lissa, but before Chrom or Azure Team could give her aid a man in strange clothing and a mask stepped in blocked the attack with his sword. While they were in a deadlock the new addition called for assistance snapping Chrom out of his disbelief and he charged in and cut down the monster from its exposed flank while a bullet from Deadeye's VSS drilled it at the same time. Just then Robin and Frederick showed up with Frederick asking about their wellbeing and being relieved that they were alright. When Chrom turned to look at Azure Team, they were nowhere to be found…again. Meanwhile the masked man left the scene, though a cloaked Azure Team did see 'him' leave.

…

 **Aasimar's POV**

"Why is she not helping them any further?" I asked.

"She?" Gadget asked.

"That masked person's a woman. Their outfit may make her look like a 'he' but the voice was definitely feminine." Deadeye added.

"Really? Damn I never expected that." Carnage said.

"However it also seems that suspicious that they'd come in and just save that person before leaving." I stated, "And when that guy known as Chrom talked to her I could see from her body language that she didn't want to reveal too many secrets yet."

"Meaning she has an ulterior motive?" Deadeye surmised, "What would that be though?"

"We can deal with that later as we got more of those undead freaks incoming." Carnage said. "Ten to be exact."

And like he said we spotted ten red dots rapidly approaching the area on our radar and soon enough ten more undead with one of them being much more built than the others and carrying a hand axe. The leader obviously. I quickly took note of the open area we were in and noticed a few mini strongholds there which could be used to our advantage. Something that the white haired tactician of the group also seemed to have noticed as he pointed that out to his allies.

Then the undead leader pointed at Chrom's group and then at our direction. Looks like he'd noticed us even though we had our adaptive camo on. Well the undead don't really need sight to spot the living. The life essence is enough for them to find you. A group of five undead consisting of an archer, two swordsmen and two axe wielders came trudging towards our direction which surprised my teammates.

"Umm ma'am? They're still coming this way." Gadget whispered through the comm.

"Well they can't see us so it won't matter." Carnage stated.

"They don't need to see us." I corrected.

"How so Aasimar?" Deadeye asked.

"Undead only need to sense our life essence to detect us, which explains how they found us in the first place." I explained.

"Meaning that our adaptive camo's useless against them." Gadget finished.

"Precisely. But it'll still work against the living ones." I added as the five undead got closer, "Alright let's deal with these things and then assist Chrom's group."

I aimed my ACR at one of the swordsmen and drilled it in the head, dropping it before it turned into mist. Deadeye wasted no time putting down the archer and other swordsman with well-placed head shots of her own. The two other axe wielders charged in only to be blasted away by Gadget and Carnage's weapons.

"Tch…No challenge at all." Carnage grunted.

"Well they aren't exactly intelligent since they're already dead." Gadget deadpanned.

"Maybe so but don't forget that they have a one up over the others here. They can detect us even when we use our adaptive camo." Deadeye reminded.

"We can worry about those details later. We have to help Chrom and the others." I said.

"Are you sure about that Aasimar? We don't know about how they'll treat us after." Deadeye asked worriedly.

"Not to mention their reaction to our form of warfare." Gadget added.

"They haven't attacked us so far and we still don't know a damn thing about this world so I'll take the risk." I replied, "However if things go south we make ourselves scarce. Anyways let's move team."

…

 **Third Person POV**

Chrom, Robin, Lissa and Frederick were engaging the remaining five undead creatures after the leader had sent five others towards another direction. Soon reinforcements had joined them. First being a red-haired foul mouthed female cavalier named Sully and the other being the white-haired over dramatic archer Virion. So far as suggested by Robin, they had used the strongholds to bolster their defenses and pick the enemy off one by one and it was effective as they were able to take them down without any damage. Soon it was the leader that was left but he was proving to be a hard one to take down due to his durability and weapon that allowed for distance or close range fighting.

Then the situation got worse as three undead showed up. However, it didn't get to escalate as they dropped like sack of potatoes with holes in their heads before turning to mist. The leader followed soon after with a hole in its chest and another one between the eyes before it also dropped dead and became mist. That had surprised Sully and Virion as they didn't expect the enemy to just get dropped like that but Chrom, Robin, Frederick and Lissa knew who were responsible and as usual they were nowhere to be seen but they knew that they were in the area. With the battle over Chrom and the others were met by the masked swordsman once again.

"That was quite the entrance what's your name?" Chrom asked the masked swordsman.

"You may call me Marth." The person responded.

"Marth? After the heroic king of old, well you certainly fight like one where did you learn the way of the sword?" Chrom said.

"I'm not here to talk about me. This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity what you saw tonight was a prelude. You have been warned." The person replied, ignoring Chrom's question and then walking away.

"Huh? What's teetering where now? Hey wait!" Lissa shouted.

"Not much for conversation is he?" Robin said to no one in particular.

"It appears that his talents lie elsewhere. I'm sure we'll hear his name again…" Frederick added, seemingly wanting to change the topic.

"Maybe we will." Chrom said before turning around and staring at an empty space. "I know you're there. Show yourselves."

"Captain Chrom?! Who the hell are you talking to?" Sully asked in confusion.

"I take it that those people we saw earlier at the town are here." Robin stated.

"What people are you talking about?" Virion inquired.

" **That would be us."** A feminine voice answered, startling the archer.

"GAAAHH! A ghost?!"

" **Hahahahahaha! He called us 'Ghosts'."** A male voice laughed.

" **Close enough but…"** Another male voice begun. It was then that four masked people in grey clothing and armor, with one of their eyes red and wielding strange weapons materialized in front of Chrom and the others startling them.

"… **we'd prefer 'Phantoms' instead."** Aasimar finished.

Chrom and Robin were calm and Lissa was a bit timid but the others freaked out at the appearance of the newcomers. The leader of the group took a step forward before having the tip of Fredrick's lance close to her face which got her stepping back and shaking her head in annoyance.

" **Scarce it is…Move out team."** Aasimar said.

The Phantoms activated their adaptive camo and vanished from the area before Chrom's group and by the time Sully and Frederick moved forward to check they were long gone.

* * *

 **To be continued…**

 **Leave a review if you kindly.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Phantoms of Ylisse**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Recon or Fire Emblem in any way, shape or form. So hold off the lawsuits and torches!**

 **III: In Demand…**

* * *

 _My name is Alexandra Lin call sign "Aasimar", leader of the Phantoms strike team "Azure". I'd never thought I'd see the day that I and Azure team would end up in Rodrig's home world after our escape from Ghosts? If that wasn't crazy enough we had just helped to rid the town of a group of bandits that tried to raid it. Even with the odds stacked against us, our gear and weaponry made taking those bandits out a cake walk. Though the climax was when the bandit leader took a hostage and we had to act. We were successful but we also exposed ourselves to the locals here. We got out of there as soon as possible before they could ask any questions._

 _Sometime later we met the same group again after both Azure team and that group took on undead zombies that attacked us both along with a masked 'swordsman' with an ulterior motive. We tried to greet them this time but some of them proved to be hostile and we made ourselves scarce._

 _With no way of returning to our world for now unless we found a dimensional gate, we had to make due with our current situation and for members of a PMC it wasn't hard. We became mercs for hire in this world taking jobs here and there especially bandit extermination, escort services and elimination of the undead which they'd soon called Risen. Thanks to a 'retrieval' expert with a sugar tooth that became our source of information we were able to be informed about the world we were in and get work. With our actions it didn't take long for us to gain a reputation in the nation we found out is known as Ylisse, ruled by Exalt Emmeryn; Regna Ferox, a nation mostly comprised of warriors ruled by the Khans and notoriety with Plegia ruled by their "Mad King" who were enemies with those two nations and didn't like us one bit due to us killing a good number of their brigands sent in to cause trouble in both nations._

 _Oh and we also made a lot of gold too._

 _Unknown to us, this was just the start of things to come._

 **Ylisse Castle, Ylisse**

Chrom and his older sister the exalt Emmeryn had just been done with their consul with the other councilors a few minutes ago and were soon joined by Philia, a Pegasus knight who guarded the Exalt and Frederick the wary. One of the topics that had been brought up during the meeting apart from the situation with Plegia and the Risen was about the mercenary unit known as Phantoms who'd gained quite the reputation a few weeks ago. Ylisse had sent scouts to keep an eye on this group but had difficulty in doing so as the mercenary unit had been very good in avoiding detection and staying hidden. Apart from a few sightings in a village or town here and there not much was known about them apart from what Chrom knew about from their earlier encounters with them.

At the conclusion of the meeting it had been agreed that Ylisse gets reinforcements from the warrior nation Regna Ferox in preparation for the inevitable war with Chrom leading in the negotiations. However, Exalt Emmeryn had another task for Chrom and the Shepherds. "Chrom, if by any chance you encounter the mercenary unit Azure I'd like you to recruit them."

"That might be hard sister." Chrom said, "They've been avoiding our scouts for weeks since their appearance."

"Chrom has a point Your Grace. Those mercenaries are very skilled in stealth. Finding them will be very difficult." Frederick added, "Still are they worth seeking out? The last time we met them they vanished on us."

"No thanks to you and the others Frederick." Chrom said, "The leader was clearly about to speak to us but you just made that impossible."

"I was being wary my prince, there was a chance they could have been enemies, especially with their destructive weaponry." Frederick replied.

"And there was also the chance they could have been allies too." Chrom countered.

"Enough." Emmeryn commanded stopping the argument. "You two have valid arguments about this mercenary unit, but until we talk with them we'll never know. So with that Chrom if you encounter the Phantoms at all tell them that I want to recruit them and if I have to talk to them for negotiations then so be it."

"Yes, we'll keep an eye out for them and if we do meet them we'll inform them." Chrom said.

…

Inside the tavern of another town a cloaked figure sat in the back of the establishment keeping to themselves. Their contact had informed them of someone seeking their group's services and they'd told the contact to help set a meeting which was for today.

Soon they heard someone walk up to their table and sat down in front of them. They were also cloaked but in black instead unlike the brown they wore. There was also a faint sight of silver hair and tanned skin from under the hood.

"Are you allied with the Phantoms?" The person, a female with a sultry voice asked.

" **You could say that. I take it that you're the one seeking our services."** The cloaked person, also female replied with a serious tone. _'I don't like this woman at all. Her sinister and shady aura just makes me sick.'_ They thought.

"Yes, I am. My master is in need of the Phantoms' unique skills for a very important job and he's willing to pay a lot for it." The woman said.

" **What does this job involve?"**

"Infiltrating a stronghold to steal…an important item out of the hands of some snobbish nobles."

" **How important is this item?"**

"It's very important. A relic that many people would pay a lot of gold to get their hands on."

" **That's all?"**

"Yes and like I said, my master will pay the Phantoms handsomely for it."

The cloaked figure looked at the client and sat there in a thinking pose. The other person smirked under their cloak thinking she got their interest.

" **Unfortunately, we'll be turning down your offer."**

The woman was surprised at that response. "Huh?! Why?!"

" **Because you're hiding something and Azure likes to know what they're really getting into before they just jump into any job and since it's clear you're hiding a lot of info then the Phantoms won't waste their time."** She stood up and glared at the other cloaked woman. **"Have a nice day."** She then left the tavern leaving the other person at the table.

Said person just shook her head and chuckled sinisterly. "You should have taken the offer."

…

 **Aasimar's POV**

I met with Phantoms' contact, a man with orange hair who went by the name Gaius. While we didn't exactly see eye to eye when we met like this, mainly for plausible deniability, he'd given us some information about the world we'd landed in and I paid him decently enough for the info. He'd gotten us in contact with many different clients for different jobs with them paying well enough for us to stay at inns as various towns and villages we went to. Now I was telling him about the latest client that I had to turn down.

"So you turned down the job?"

" **Yes, something about her rubbed me the wrong way. Not to mention she wasn't being completely honest with me."**

"So they were shady as hell?"

" **Incredibly shady. Be wary around them Gaius if you ever encounter them."**

"I'll be sure to. So you'll be leaving?"

" **Yes, watch yourself. Something's going to go down soon and I'd rather you not be caught in the middle."**

I threw a small bag of gold coins Gaius' way which he quickly caught.

"Sure, I'll take your advice."

With that I left him behind.

A few minutes later I met up with my team who were waiting for my return.

"So how did the meeting go ma'am?" Carnage asked.

"I turned down the job. Something about the client wasn't frank with me and hid too much, not to mention she gave me bad vibes just being around her." I stated.

"That's not good news. Anything else ma'am?" Deadeye asked.

"We're leaving. From what I felt they'll be sending their goons after us in retaliation for not taking the job." I ordered. She may not have known but I heard her ominous declaration after I left her behind.

"Again? We can't be doing this forever ma'am. We really need a place to settle down." Gadget complained.

"Everyone's looking for us to either work for them or to kill us in Plegia's case." Carnage said, "We don't have many people we can trust."

"What about that Gaius guy?" Gadget countered.

"I don't trust him as far as I can throw him Gadget." I answered, "He's been of good use to us and that's as far as it goes with him. Now move out."

With that Azure team packed up and was on the move once again. Lack of places beside, our reputation had put a target on our backs with many groups out for our heads like Plegia and some bandit gangs or in high demand of our skills like Ylisse and like Carnage mentioned we had no one to trust.

But like Gadget also pointed out we can't keep this nomad style forever. We were running low on ammo even when we'd limited the use of our weapons and the lack of gunpowder in this world made creating ammo impossible. Even our special ammo like incendiary and armor piercing were very limited. Which was why Azure team mainly took more bandit extermination jobs where we could use our adaptive camo to stealthily take out the bandits without using ammo. The same couldn't be said for dealing with the undead Risen who could sense life essence and limiting the team to headshots to deal with them.

So for now the Phantom team continued to move to another place.

 **Evening…**

We'd been followed.

Our radar had detected them a while ago as we moved through the savannah and then forest. We'd thrown them off earlier with our camo and using the grass so as to not leave footprints somehow they were able to still track us, meaning that these guys were professionals.

Having enough of the goose chase we decided to ambush them ourselves.

"There are four of them. We'll leave the leader alive to interrogate. The others are expendable." I ordered my team as we laid in wait in the forest blending with the trees.

Soon four hooded men showed up with unique gauntlets with a familiar logo showed up. That of the Grimleal, a group of fanatics we'd the displeasure of crossing paths with once when we were escorting a caravan. These cultists worship the dragon god known as Grima, an evil, destructive force of nature that had been slain by the exalt years millennia ago.

They were nothing but mindless puppets as far as I'm concerned, but a dangerous bunch if left alone.

We lined up our shots, using the laser sight to make sure and in sync my teammates took out three of them with headshots while I landed a nasty wound on the leader, enough to put him down but still be alive for interrogation.

When we were done we came out and approached the badly wounded leader whose hood was off to reveal a bald man with brown eyes full of madness and anger who glared at us.

" **I have questions for you and you'll give me the answers whether willingly or by force. Your choice."** I stated.

"Ha! Like I'll talk to you." The man said in defiance.

" **Good. Thanks for making my night."** I replied before Carnage restrained him and we went off to a nearby river.

 **An hour later…Third Person POV**

"Is he talking yet?" Aasimar asked.

"Nope. The bloody SOB's still tight lipped." Gadget answered as they heard more muffled screaming behind them. "He keeps saying that Grima will have our heads for this and all we're doing is helping strengthen Grima when he dies."

Cult fanatics…How annoying…

Soon the muffled screaming stopped and once more they heard their leader ask her question again. This time there was whimpering before the cultist said something. After that there was the sound of a blade slicing through skin, gurgling and then a final death rattle.

The two then saw Deadeye and Carnage approach with Carnage cleaning his combat knife with a cloth.

"So he finally talked?" Aasimar asked.

"Took a while but yes I made him talk. Somebody called Aversa sent him and his pals to take us out for not agreeing to that job." Deadeye answered. "She must have been none too happy about you turning down the job."

"Like that matters. The woman was shady as hell and hiding too much. No way am I risking us going in blind." Aasimar stated. "Has the body been disposed of?"

"He's serving as fertilizer for the plants here." Carnage answered.

"Good. Let's move away from here and make camp." Aasimar ordered.

 **Next Day…**

Azure Team woke and freshened up for the new day before clearing the camp and making sure to leave nothing that'll be tracked to them before they were on the move again.

Soon they were in low grasslands with the bright sun up. The Phantom strike team sighed as they enjoyed the fresh air and warm sun.

"One of the few times I enjoy being in the open." Deadeye said.

"We're all in agreement with that." Carnage said.

Their enjoyment of this peaceful atmosphere was soon interrupted by an all too familiar undead presence and rotting smell of flesh the Phantoms were familiar with.

"Oh great, it's those bloody undead wankers again." Gadget cursed as he had his CAWS ready.

"They really need to work on their timing." Deadeye added, already taking aim with her VSS sniper rifle and killing a Risen archer.

"At least they serve as a great form of target practice and stress relief." Carnage joked as he loaded a set of grenades into his XM29 OICW grenade launcher.

"Something we're all in agreement of." Aasimar said. It was then she sensed multiple people approaching them and then a beam of yellow lighting surged past her and struck down a Risen ahead before another voice joined in.

"Need some assistance?"

 **Half an hour earlier…**

The Shepherds had prepared for their trip to Regna Ferox yesterday and were now marching towards the warrior nation. Joining their ranks was the white haired tactician Robin, an amnesiac who could only remember his name and Chrom's for some reason. After proving himself with his strategies against some bandits in town the blue haired prince recruited him into his militia The Shepherds which was formed to protect the citizens of Ylisse.

Chrom also had the task of recruiting the elusive Phantoms. A name they live up to due to their ghost-like ways of operating. The last time they saw them they'd efficiently taken down some Risen the same day the prince had found Robin and they'd defended a town from bandits. From what he'd seen these strange soldiers had used weaponry they'd never seen before that proved to be very deadly to human and even undead especially when hitting a vital spot.

Walking up beside him was the tactician Robin.

"You think we'll be able to recruit the Phantoms?" Robin asked.

"I don't know." Chrom answered, "We didn't exactly start on good terms when we last met them, not to mention they're an elusive and stealthy bunch especially with their ability to disappear from the area."

"Terrifying indeed. Then there are their weapons which can even take out a knight in armor and their stealth skills. You wouldn't be able to detect them until it's too late." Robin agreed. He'd seen a few reports about the mercenary team's handiwork. Very precise and efficient. None of the opposition getting a chance to retaliate. "From what I was able to tell last time their leader is the reasonable type as she seemed to want to talk before the others scared them off."

"I was thinking the same thing." Chrom replied, "Let's hope that we'll be able to talk without any hostilities if we meet."

Suddenly the two of them heard a familiar thunderous sound which told them that their objective was in the area.

"What luck…They're nearby." Chrom said in amusement.

"And they seem to be in battle if that sound wasn't obvious." Robin added, "Let's see if we can give them help."

"Sure." Chrom then turned to the Shepherds who were already on alert thanks to the sound. "Everyone move out. There are some people in need of assistance ahead." He ordered.

The militia acknowledged and moved quickly towards the battle ahead. They soon arrived at the scene where a few of them saw a familiar group in grey attire using strange but lethal weapons while the others wondered who they were. Robin wasted no time firing off a Thoron spell at a Risen and took it down. The Shepherds then joined the battle with Robin then saying, "Need some assistance?"

 **Present (Aasimar POV)**

When I heard that I instantly recognized who it was. My teammates were also tense as they also noticed the new arrivals.

" **Just our luck, the Shepherds are here."** Deadeye said in annoyance.

" **Robin isn't it?"** I asked, **"Never remembered asking for your assistance."**

The white haired tactician came up beside her and the Shepherds spread out to take on the remaining Risen.

"Just like we never asked for your assistance with the brigands nor the Risen yet you and your subordinates helped us without a thought." Robin retorted.

" **Touché."** I replied, **"We'll talk about this after the battle."**

"Agreed since I want to talk to you as well." Chrom chimed in as he moved ahead of me and Robin, "Until then let's deal with these monsters."

" **Okay. You handle the ones in close quarters while we provide support."** I replied before turning to my teammates, **"Azure Team. Provide cover fire and watch for friendlies."**

They acknowledged though with hesitation considering how the arrivals reacted to us last time.

 **(Third Person POV)**

With both groups working together the Risen were quickly dealt with. Soon after Azure Team and the Shepherds came together with Aasimar, Chrom and Robin in between both groups who stood separately from the other.

" **So what is it you want from us prince?"** Aasimar asked sternly.

"We have a proposition for you." Chrom began, "It-"

" **By that you mean that you want to acquire our services?"** Aasimar interrupted Chrom much to him and Robin's surprise, **"Your kingdom hasn't exactly been subtly about trying to gain information about us and it was most likely for this. Not to mention Plegia's been trying to kill me and my team ever since we first took out those brigands back then."**

Robin recovered before Chrom did and said, "You're right about that. Your team's handiwork has gotten the attention of many with Ylisse being one of them."

" **And with the increasing tension between Ylisse and Plegia your Exalt wants to gain whatever edge she'll need if war does breakout, even if she hopes for a peaceful resolution which we know is impossible due to the madman in charge of Plegia."** Aasimar stated.

"And to also give you and your team a place to call home." Chrom continued, "Being on the move for so long has been tiring for you right?"

Aasimar looked at her squad and saw the slight exhaustion on them. **"You're right about that, but it's mainly because we're in unknown territory and can't just trust anyone."**

"That's understandable. Most mercenaries don't give out their trust easily." Robin stated.

"So how about it, Aasimar? Will you work for Ylisse on a more long term basis? You'll be paid well and given a place to live in until the contract ends." Chrom asked.

Aasimar stood in front of them in silence for a minute before she said, **"Before Azure agrees to this I'd need to talk with the Exalt first since she'll become more or less our boss if we ever agree to it."**

It wasn't a definite yes or a no, but a maybe, but it was a start to negotiations. "Of course, in fact the Exalt had a feeling you'd want to speak to her first and she has no objections to that." Chrom said.

" **Seems she's planned ahead. That's a start."** Aasimar nodded, **"So where are you off to since you're clearly marching away from Ylisse?"**

"We're off the Regna Ferox for an important mission." Robin said, "It'll be nice of you to accompany us. You can also think of this as a trial run for deciding whether to work for Ylisse or not."

Aasimar put a hand under her chin and stood in silence before looking at them. **"Alright, Azure Team will accompany the Shepherds for this trial run before I meet with your Exalt. Let me inform my subordinates."**

"I'll do the same for my own. Thank you."Chrom said in relief.

" **Don't get too comfortable yet prince."** Aasimar warned as she walked back to her team who stood at the ready.

"So what's the deal ma'am?" Carnage asked.

"Ylisse wants to hire us on a long term basis along with giving us a place to finally stay." Aasimar answered, "Not to mention the Exalt has agreed to talk to me first before making such a decision if needed."

"Not surprising ma'am. It was bound to happen sooner or later." Gadget said, "Not to mention we can finally settle down in one place."

"They also want us to accompany them on their current mission at Regna Ferox as a sort of trial run." The team lead added.

"A way to see more of our skills?" Carnage questioned.

"Or to determine whether we're a potential threat." Deadeye stated.

"Either way we'll assist on this trial run and see what we're working with before I meet the Exalt." Aasimar said, "Still be on guard just in case they try something."

"Yes ma'am!" The team acknowledged.

After some preparations Azure Team now joined the Shepherds and both groups continued towards Regna Ferox.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 End.**

 **Drop a review…if you feel like it, and we'll see how this story goes…No mindless flames or they'll be trashed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Phantoms in Ylisse**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Recon or Fire Emblem in any way, shape or form. So hold off the lawsuits and torches!**

 **IV: Trial Run**

* * *

The group consisting of the Shepherds and the Phantoms had made camp sometime after the strike team had agreed to join them on their mission at Regna Ferox. The next day came and everyone woke up to continue their journey. The Phantoms were used to moving on foot themselves but even they missed moving from place to place by hummer, chopper or even plane. Well, beggars can't be choosers.

Then there was the fact that this was a trial run proposed by Aasimar as a chance for the Ylisseans to see more of Azure Team's skills and for the Phantom strike team to see if the Ylisseans were worth considering working with. Their limited ammunition was something the Phantoms really needed to address and were thinking of ways to get around that.

Along the way to Regna Ferox, the group had found an injured Pegasus alone in the fields. Luckily Sumia showed up to calm the animal down and begin helping to get it back to 100%. They later set camp for the day.

…

Robin walked towards the Phantom Team's tent wanting to talk with the Azure Team leader. Suddenly he had to side step out of the way to avoid a frantic Chrom who was fleeing for his dear life.

' _Alright…if I'm to make a guess Chrom angered someone to make them want to kill him.'_ He guessed.

"Aasimar, are you in there?" Robin called out. He suddenly found himself facing the barrel of a Five-Seven and a woman wearing the Phantoms uniform but without the bulletproof vest and headgear, showing her black ponytail hair, light skinned face with icy blue eyes and a distinguishing scar across her nose. The woman glared at the male tactician in front of her.

"Robin…" She said calmly, "I take it you're here to see Aasimar?"

"Yes and I take it that you're Deadeye right?" Robin answered cautiously getting a nod in return, "And I also take it that Chrom did something to earn your ire."

"That pervert walked in on us while we were dressing up." The sniper said with disgust. "We would have shot his balls full of holes if he didn't run for his life."

"I can see that." Robin said, "So mind letting me past so I can talk with your leader?" The sniper moved out of the way allowing the tactician to walk into the tent. "Thank you."

Inside the Shepherds tactician spotted Azure team leader who is dressed in the similar Phantom uniform with her weapons beside her, looking at a map of Ylisse with focus. Aasimar had brown eyes, but medium length brown hair and tanned skin that gave her an exotic look that made him feel warmer than normal.

Robin felt that the Azure team leader was older than she looked as he felt the aura of experience and charisma around the woman, not to mention something...divine about her.

"Here to talk Robin?" Aasimar asked, still focused on the map already aware of his presence.

Robin shook himself back to normal and moved forward, "Yes. Chrom came to me earlier asking for advice on which route to take for our trip to Regna Ferox. I came here to ask for a second opinion."

Aasimar turned her head towards Robin and asked, "You want a second opinion from me? Aren't you the Shepherds' tactician? May I remind you that I'm the leader of my own unit?"

"I know that, but I feel that I can trust you for a second opinion as I can tell that you're a tactician yourself." Robin replied.

"Indeed I am. Something you figured out during the few times you witnessed my team in action." Aasimar admitted, "Still I'm more surprised that you trust someone like me considering that I and my unit are not from around here. I expected you to be more cautious around me like the other Shepherds."

"Well I'm a good judge of character and I know that I can trust you." Robin replied. "Besides you haven't done anything to prove otherwise so far."

"Key phrase being 'so far' Robin." Aasimar pointed out. "So what exactly do you need my opinion for then?"

Robin brought out a smaller map and put it over the larger map before pointing towards a certain portion.

"Like I said Chrom asked my opinion of what route to go between moving through the plains or the valley? I'd suggested the valley since we'd be more exposed in the plains. What about you? What do you think?"

Aasimar looked at the map analytically for a minute before looking at the tactician. "You're right. The valley is the better option and for the same reason. Less exposure to potential ambushes the better." Aasimar answered, "That all? I have a briefing with my team to attend to."

"Sure. Thanks for your opinion Aasimar." Robin said.

"Call me Alexa when we're in private." Aasimar stated, "Consider it the first step in me giving you a semblance of trust. Also can you and Chrom come back later? I want to discuss a plan for in case things at Regna Ferox escalate."

"I don't mind, and I'll let Chrom know. Thanks for your time Alexa, we'll talk later." Robin said with a smile as he left the tent.

' _Why is he smiling as if he's gotten my full trust?'_ Aasimar thought, _'Though I'll admit, he's not a bad fellow to talk with.'_

…

A few days later, the Shepherds and Azure Team reached the large fortress known as the Longfort which stretched along the border.

Carnage whistled, **"Damn…That is one big ass fort hombre."**

" **...We've seen bigger Carnage."** Deadeye deadpanned.

" **I know, but I can't help but to be awed by what I'm seeing you know."** The heavy weapons specialist said.

" **That isn't a surprise since this is your first time in this dimension."** Gadget added.

" **Team, we're on a mission. Game face on."** Aasimar ordered.

" **Yes ma'am!"** The Phantom Team got serious and activated their adaptive camo, easily blending in with the snowy environment.

"S-Sheesh…I'll never get used to their disappearing act." Sully said shuddering.

"You and me both." Vaike agreed with her.

"Good thing they're on our side huh?" Stahl said.

"Yes, indeed and their ability to easily blend with the environment is definitely something for study." Miriel stated with interest.

"Good luck with that Miriel. They are a very secretive bunch." Stahl stated.

…

"Brrr! F-F-Frebberick! I'm f-f-freebing!" A shivering Lissa cried out.

An unaffected Frederick chuckles as he sets his horse beside the princess. "Stand beside my horse, milady. She'll shelter you from the cold."

"So this is the fortress?" Robin asked, looking at the structure.

"Yes, the Longfort. It stretches along the border between Ylisse and Regna Ferox." Chrom answered.

"The khans that rule Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners." Frederick added.

" _ **Meaning that there's a good chance of a fight breaking out."**_ Aasimar's voice sounded on the earpieces that Chrom and Robin had on.

"Ah...Aasimar. I take it that you and Azure Team are getting in position." Robin stated on his earpiece.

" _ **Yes, we are."**_ Aasimar replied, _**"And it looks like those earpieces Gadget gave you two are working**_ **."**

"That's right Aasimar. They'll be very useful to us. I'd like to thank your subordinate Gadget for these things." Chrom said.

" _ **You're welcome Prince Chrom. Too bad we only have enough for you and Robin."**_ Gadget said, _**"But since you two are the most important members of the Shepherds I'd say it's a good thing."**_

"Yes, I'll admit this would be a useful way for the Shepherds to coordinate with Azure Team." Robin added.

" _ **Anyways, we're ready to go when you all are. Azure Team will be supporting you for this trial run."**_ Aasimar responded seriously, _**"And from what I know about the people at Regna Ferox and what's been going on, I'd say there's a small chance for the diplomatic route. Keyword being 'small'."**_

"Most likely. Besides negotiation's not my strong suit, but it still doesn't mean I won't try my best." Chrom said. "Remember, everyone: your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse."

…

A concerned expression appears on Frederick's face as he looks around the area in front of the fort. He then notices movement on top of the fort. "Trouble in the wind milord: the Feroxi Guard are mobilizing." He said.

"What?! Why?!" Chrom asked in surprise.

"Who can say? But they look ready to let fly at a moment's notice."

" _ **We'll be sure to make sure it doesn't happen."**_ Aasimar said on the earpiece.

"I'm glad to hear that, Aasimar. Just be ready." Chrom acknowledged. _  
_

"Glad to know that Azure Team is ready." Robin muttered.

"Same here." Chrom said, "Hopefully the plan you and Aasimar brought up would work."

"I'm still on the fence regarding them." Frederick said.

"Not surprising." Robin deadpanned.

"This is a trial run so let's reserve judgement until the end and not aggravate them." Chrom stated while directing the last part at Frederick.

"I'll do so, but that doesn't mean that they can be trusted. Not to mention their alliances won't change very quickly since they're mercenaries." Frederick warned.

"Let's hope it doesn't come that." Robin said.

"I'm sure that it won't." Chrom added.

"Halt! Who goes there?!" yelled a voice coming from above the fortress. Looking up, the Shepherds saw a woman in very heavy and bulky armor flanked by four people in similar armor except they have their helmets on. The hostility and distrust wasn't hard to sense coming from her.

" _ **Careful, Chrom."**_ Aasimar warned.

"I know. Just continue what you're doing Aasimar." Chrom said faintly before he walked forward and began to address the perceived leader of the guards. "In the name of House Ylisse, I seek an audience with the khans!"

"Not another step, my bold lad! I've lancers at the ready!" The armored woman warned as the other three armored guards were poised to throw their projectiles.

"Hold, milady! We're not your enemy!" Frederick yelled out, "Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest."

"Tch! Our only interest is keeping you brigands off our lands!" The woman replied.

" _ **Situation's already escalating."**_ Deadeye said on the Cross com.

" _ **We know that."**_ Aasimar responded, _**"Status?"**_

" _ **We're in position and ready."**_ Carnage and Gadget said.

" _ **Same here."**_ Deadeye added.

" _ **Good."**_

"Brigands?!" Chrom asked in confusion.

"You think you're the first Ylisseans to try and cross our border? I have authority to fell you lots right where you stand!" The guard captain said.

"How dare you! You are in the presence of Prince Chrom, The Exalt's own blood." Frederick yelled in anger.

"Ha! Yes, indeed-and I'm the queen of Valm! You do realize that impersonating a noble is a capital offense, yes?" The guard captain mocked.

" _ **Ma'am. Permission to shut this bitch up."**_ Deadeye asked in annoyance.

" _ **Denied."**_ Aasimar replied.

"Hmm…Perhaps we'll settle this the Feroxi way." The guard captain said with finality.

"This isn't good." Robin muttered before subtly pressing on the earpiece. "Aasimar?"

" _ **I know Robin. We've got this. Azure's in position."**_ Aasimar replied.

"Rgh…Emmeryn won't like this at all..." Chrom groaned before raising his voice, "Please, good lady! If you'd just listen…"

Unfortunately the armored lady wasn't in the mood to listen anymore. "I'VE HEARD QUITE ENOUGH! ATTA-" However she was cut off by something being pressed on the back of her head. The same was felt by the three guards beside her. Then a chill went up her spine as a cold voice spoke to her.

" **If you know what's good for you, you'd shut up right now and tell your men to stand down least you end up breathing from the back of your head."**

"Who are you to threaten..."

" **It's not a threat. It's a promise."**

The Guard Captain tried to get a good look at the one beside her but a click from the object behind her told her otherwise.

" **Don't even think about it! Move and you're dead. Try anything dumb, you're dead too. Tell your men to stand down or else."**

The Feroxi woman found herself and her men in a dire position. The people behind them could kill them right now before they could make a move. She had no option but to comply.

"MEN! STAND DOWN!" She ordered.

"Captain Raimi?!" One of her subordinates asked.

"Stand down. Let the 'Ylisseans' in. Let's hear what they have to say." Raimi stated.

The guards obeyed the order though hesitantly as they didn't like the way they were bested. The gates to the fortress were opened and the Shepherds walked in.

" **Smart move. You just saved lives with your actions."** Aasimar said as she and her team reappeared.

"Save it scoundrel. You're lucky you're in an advantageous position or I'll skewer you where you stand." Raimi snapped.

" **Yeah, smart thing to say to the ones who have you at dead to rights."** Carnage remarked sarcastically.

" **Exactly. The only reason you're not corpses right now is because Ylisse is not here to cause trouble and this action was only to prevent things from escalating."** Deadeye added.

"So you're saying that that man is really Ylissean royalty?" Raimi asked.

" **Yes and he's here for a diplomatic mission. Nothing more, nothing less."** Aasimar confirmed.

"I see...There is truth in your words. You and your subordinates would have killed us right then if you were truly brigands."

" **Exactly. You're only alive because I'm under the Prince's orders to not kill you."**

"I see. Alright, I'll listen to what the Prince has to say."

" **Good. Now move along then."**

 **...**

Azure Team led the guards down to the courtyard where the Shepherds were waiting. Azure Team then walked around Raimi and stood around Chrom and Robin. Sumia had arrived a few minutes after the situation was defused with the very pegasus she'd treated.

Raimi observed the four soldiers in what seemed to be unusual armor of different types and wielding unusual weapons of different lengths. She had a feeling that those weapons could inflict serious damage if used. She noted the armor they wore; two seemed to be in a variation of light armor, one seemed to be in medium armor and the tallest one of the group was in what seemed to be heavy armor even though it was less bulky than what she and some of the guards wore.

"Now that we have much cooler heads can we talk now?" Chrom asked.

"Yes. A thousand apologies, Prince Chrom. I truly mistook you for brigand imposters." Raimi apologized, "Not even frauds could get the drop on us like the four unknowns with you." She looked warily at Azure Team who watched her like a pack of wolves. "I'll send word of your arrival to the capital and escort you there personally."

"That would be most appreciated." Chrom said, "Thank you."

With that Raimi left to do as she said.

"Amazing. Her whole demeanor turned around." Robin remarked.

"I'd say that it's thanks to Aasimar and her team since they managed to defuse the situation quickly and also scare her too." Frederick stated, "Normally in Ferox, strength speaks louder than words but actions do the same."

" **Considering that I had her life in my hands it's not a surprise that things ended well enough."** Aasimar said, **"And yes, actions do speak louder than words no matter the culture."**

"Well you have my thanks again Azure Team for keeping things from escalating." Chrom said. **"So far so good with this trial run."**

" **Just doing our job Lord Prince."** Gadget said.

Chrom sighed, "Just Chrom is fine."

Lissa cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Anyways...can we all get going?"

"Yes, it's not getting any warmer here." Chrom agreed.

" **I'll second that senor."** Carnage said.

 **...**

 **Aasimar's POV**

The group had been escorted inside Regna Ferox. Chrom, Robin, Lissa, Frederick and I were led to the main chamber of the khan while the other Shepherds and my team waited outside.

"Prince Chrom, please wait here while I summon the khan."

"Of course."

Raimi went on to summon the khan while we waited.

"The khan's away?" Robin asked.

"Out training, I'd wager. The khans of Ferox prefer battle over politics." Chrom explained.

" **That's to be expected of a warrior kingdom. Battle is their own form of politics after all."** I added.

"Exactly. Took the words out of my mouth Aasimar." Chrom said.

Robin sweat dropped, "A warrior ruler huh? I can picture him now..."

" **You can keep your imagination to yourself Robin. We all don't need to know."** I deadpanned. No seriously I don't even want to hear it.

A powerful feminine voice spoke up however, "Really? ...Please, do describe me to everyone here."

"Huh?!"

Everyone turned as a tan skinned woman with blonde high ponytailed hair in red and white armor approached them with an amused expression on her face.

"You're the-?! Er, that is to say...The khan, I presume?" Chrom asked while trying to not be disrespectful.

"One of them. The East Khan to be exact. My name is Flavia." The woman introduced herself, "I apologize for the trouble at the border, Prince Chrom. You're welcome in Regna Ferox."

" **That's good to know."** I muttered.

"Thank you, but I'm confident we can put that misunderstanding behind us." Chrom said wanting to get straight to the point. "Is it true bandits posing as Ylisseans have been ransacking your border villages?"

"Yes. Those Plegian dogs! We found documents proving as much on the corpse of one of their captains." Flavia confirmed, "Plegia must see some benefit in raising tensions between your kingdom and ours."

" **Not a surprise. It's a very common tactic used to cause distrust between two parties after all."** I stated. Useful when done right.

Flavia turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Really? And who would you be?"

" **Just call me Aasimar, an ally of the good prince."** I answered.

"Aasimar is the leader of Phantom Team Azure. A group of soldiers from very far lands." Chrom said.

"Ah. So these are the elusive Phantoms that had been making a name for themselves?" Flavia stated, "Well met."

" **I'll leave the rest to you Chrom."** I said not wanting to be involved in the politics.

Chrom and Flavia discussed their business. Flavia already knew why Chrom had arrived but unfortunately she couldn't assist even if she wanted to.

"What?! Why not?!" Lissa exclaimed.

" **Calm down Lissa. She must have a reason why."** I said before turning to Flavia, **"I take it that it has to do with you not being the ruling khan, right?"**

Flavia smirked at the operative, "Perceptive aren't you? How did you figure that?"

" **You did mention that you were ONE of the khans and so it must mean that the West Khan is in control."** I pointed out.

"You're correct young one. I lack the authority." Flavia confirmed, "In Ferox, the khans of East and West hold a tournament every few years with the victor acquiring total sovereignty over both kingdoms."

"Meaning that they have the final say when it comes to forging alliances and in this case it's up to the West Khan to decide that." Robin finished.

"Meaning that we are to receive no aid at all?" Chrom said worryingly.

Flavia chuckled and said, "Not if you give up that easily. Fortunately for you, the next tournament is nigh high..."

" **And you're in need of capable fighters."** I finished.

"What does that have to do with us?" Chrom asked.

" **To sum it up if Ylisse is to get the alliance it desires we'll have to help Flavia win this tournament."** I answered for him.

"Exactly. I can tell that you young prince are a capable warrior in your own right and so are your "Shepherds" and from your reputation and what the captain of the border guard informed me you Aasimar and your comrades are pretty dangerous in your own right especially when you were able to defuse the situation at Long Fort pretty quickly and with no incident." Flavia continued, "But how good are you in a full on fight and with our kinds of weapons? As I can tell that your strange weapons are quite devastating in your hands."

" **Is that a challenge East Khan?"** I asked with my masked gaze on Flavia.

"Call it an incentive." Flavia answered with a grin.

" **Challenge accepted."** I said. Looks like it's time to show everyone my skills with melee weapons.

It also looked like Chrom has also agreed to be involved in this too.

…

Chrom and I now representing Flavia stood in the coliseum ready to fight the two fighters that represented the West khan to not only get her in the seat of power but to get the needed troops for Ylisse. Somehow the East Khan had managed to convince her rival to have two fighters to represent them instead of just one.

Chrom had his signature Falchion in hand while I had the sword Severance, Rodrig's dueling sword that he'd gifted me before we merged, which I'd secretly brought out with its sheath. Everyone but my team were surprised that I had a sword of my own as they'd never seen me with it.

"I never knew you could wield a sword." Chrom stated.

" **You never asked."** I deadpanned, making him pause.

"Good point. How good are you with it though?"

" **How about you see for yourself?"** I drew out Severance from its sheath, the blade shining brightly in the area.

"That's a well-crafted blade. Maybe when this is over we could spar?" Chrom said in awe.

" **Maybe, until then focus on the objective lord prince."** I reminded the prince.

The two of us then focused on our opponents across from us, the first being a man with black hair wearing a blue and white attire with black boots that reminds me of a ronin samurai and he's wielding a katana. Well this should be fun. The second opponent however was a familiar masked face.

" **Looks like Marth's here too."**

"Really?! Here?" Chrom asked in surprise. I pointed a thumb at the direction of the masked swordsman. "So 'he's' the West Khan's champion, huh? How about we show them our skills then? Marth's mine." He immediately moved towards his opponent.

" **So I get the ronin?"** I then shrugged, **"To each their own I guess."** I then walked towards my own opponent.

I then heard Chrom gasp before saying, "There's no way." I glanced his way and my eyes nearly jumped out of its sockets as I saw why: Marth had the exact same Falchion as him. I quickly recovered from that and moved just in time to avoid the ronin's thrust attack.

"Focus on me…not them." He said.

" **Sorry about that. It won't happen again."** I replied as I performed the 'Steel Net' flourish and got into a traditional fencing stance. To the unskilled eye I'm just being flashy but to Aldori sword lords or skilled swordsmen it's more than that and from the cautious look he gave me he was the latter. **"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Aasimar, a soldier."**

"I am Lon'qu. Subordinate of the West Khan." The swordsman replied.

We both stood there from each other not making a move while Chrom and Marth clashed some distance from us.

It was Lon'qu who then made his move as he closed in with a thrust which I blocked, he then followed up with a downward slash and then an upper slash which I parried and sidestepped respectively. Lon'qu had a puzzled expression on his face before that disappeared and he came at me again with a flurry of attacks which I defended against with swift blocks, parries and footwork while trying to find an opening to end this quickly.

That opening soon came when the swordsman came in with a powerful slash and I parried and as a riposte disarmed him of his weapon in one smooth motion before outside tripping him and leveling Severance in front of his face shocked face and eliciting gasps from the crowd.

" **Yield?"** I asked.

"Yes…I yield." Lon'qu replied, reluctantly.

I sheathed Severance and offered my hand to him. He took it and I pulled him up to his feet.

' _Been a while since I've been in a swordfight. Glad to know I've not gotten rusty._ ' I thought.

"I've never seen such swordsmanship. It's definitely nothing like any I've seen before." Lon'qu said, "It's like you had some form of barrier around you making it impossible to land a hit."

" **Well the style was designed mainly for dueling but can also be used on the battlefield."** I answered, **"As for what that style is…I can't reveal it to you unless you become a student in it."**

"I see. Then I'll not ask any further since I'm satisfied with my own style."

We both then heard a pained grunt and turned to see Chrom standing over the defeated 'Marth'. Looks like Chrom sealed the deal for us.

…

Flavia was ecstatic at me and Chrom's victory over the opposing khan's champions. While she'd been impressed by Chrom' skills she was even more impressed by mine when I easily overwhelmed Lon'qu. Seeing that I was as skilled with a sword as I was with a gun told her that Azure Team was dangerous without our guns. Well that's true as my teammates were already skilled with other traditional weapons when the team was formed.

Carnage is handy with an axe and knife as he'd been a lumberjack and had to defend himself from cartel members and other criminals before turning to the mercenary life.

Deadeye had been trained in archery and hunting by both her parents as it ran in the family and she was damned good with a bow and a combat knife.

Gadget was skilled with pole arms as he'd trained with Shaolin monks in China some time before he joined the Phantoms and assigned to Azure Team to help him focus on his studies while in college.

As for me I was trained in swordsmanship by my grandparents and my best friend Rodrig Aldori, a master swordsman in the Aldori dueling style meaning that I'm also an Aldori too since you must become one to learn the style.

Anyways with our victory Flavia became the ruling khan and true to her word she agreed to give military support to Ylisse in the inevitable war against the Mad King and Plegia. So far so good the trial run has been a success.

With our business concluded the Shepherds, Azure Team and Lon'qu whom was assigned to us by the West Khan all left Regna Ferox and went back to Ylisse where we'll really negotiate terms with her.

However, at the same time I had a feeling that something else was going to come to pass.

* * *

 **Chapter IV End.**

 **Aasimar shows off her skill with a sword and proves that she can be just as dangerous with it as she is with a gun. Her subordinates too can use melee weapons too due to their own backgrounds.**

 **The Aldori Dueling style is a very defensive style that is also good for disarms used by Aldori Sword Lords in Brevoy especially as it was first used by Baron Sirius Aldori who'd first been beaten by a bandit leader before going into a self-imposed exile and returning to challenge the same bandit again and thoroughly owning the bandit this time. The baron taught the style to a select few under the condition they became Aldoris themselves and that became the norm from there. In Pathfinder it's an archetype for the Fighter Class and a prestige class too.**

 **Rodrig was classed as a Sword lord Fighter, Aldori sword lord prestige and a Cavalier for dueling, tactics and leadership.**

 **Anyways next chapter will be for some negotiations and dealing with the Mad King.**


End file.
